Whether, Why, and Whom to Tell

Summary

In the present chapter, a model of the decision of whether to transmit reputation information is outlined. Properties of transmissibility drawn from the memetic literature (for a good reading on this field, see Aunger, 2000) will be applied to analyse this decision. In particular, four main aspects will be investigated:

Whether and why reputation information is transmitted: what are the mechanisms and reasons underlying this decision

To whom this information is transmitted: who are the recipients

Whom it concerns: who is the target of reputation

How it is conveyed: what are the channels and the contextual properties facilitating transmission